Comment: I heard that the caduceus was used as a health symbol because of
a human leg parasite, which had to be removed really slowly by wrapping it
around a staff, and the parasite was so long that if you started at the
head of the crossbar part, it would twist all the way down and back up to
the crossbar again.

This is such a cool story, I can't help telling it, but I want to make
sure it's true, so I don't spread misinformation accidentally.

The worm in question is the Guinea Worm. It's about as horrible as it sounds.

Apparently, there is some credence to the rumour, at least according to the CDC:

Quote:

Many believe that the symbol of medicine, the caduceus, which shows a snake wrapped around a stick, may actually represent a Guinea worm. With future generations not knowing this disease, medicine’s very symbol will have a new significance.

I always thought the caduceus had something to do with the legend of Tiresias, who was turned into a woman for 7 years after striking 2 mating snakes with his staff. What this had to do with medicine I have no idea. I suppose I thought Tiresias was a doctor of some kind.

I thought that here the rod with one snake was a sort of symbol of medicine (well, it is from the Greek God of Healing) and the two snake caduceus is military medicine and U.S. Public Health Service. How the latter happened I have no idea.